Someone has a birthday soon!!!

Our Sweet Pea is turning 1 in about a little over a month and to get ready for her birthday I’m making this sweet craft! The linked website has instructions, but they’re a little vague so I’ll get a nice tutorial up when I’m done for those of you who want to try it out but (like me) need pictures to go a long with the instructions.

Car Seat Strap Covers

We got a super deal on a convertible car seat about a month ago from Target. Unfortunately, the model we bought didn’t come with covers for the shoulder straps. My Sweet Pea is just so sensitive that the straps started to bother her immediately.

So this morning I decided to make her some strap covers. Now, a lot of tutorials I’ve seen have the strap covers in a nice easy square shape. I’m sure that this is an easy method for being successful at this project, however, I’m in the mood for a something different and decided to make mine the same shape as the strap covers on Sweet Pea’s infant car seat (we have a chicco – the strap covers are half circles). If you want to make square ones, click through on the image below for easy directions – but be sure to read this post for tips on how to make the process even simpler!

If you want to make circles, like mine,  keep reading.

Materials:

• Four circles cut from your choice of fabric. You could upcycle some old t-shirts, baby blankets, burp cloths, or just use some craps that you have lying around.
• Edging – double sided bias tape if you’re in a hurry,  or, use some of the material that you’re upcycling and make your own bias tape. You’ll probably want a bias tape maker if you choose that route.
• Four circles of cotton batting… or if you’re like me and too cheap to go to the fabric store, you can use some scrap felt that you have lying around.
• 4 inches of velcro

Step 1. Cutting out your shapes.

I recommend you use a pattern. A big cereal bowl will probably do nicely. Fold and pin your fabric then trace your bowl. Do this twice so you’ll have four pieces of fabric. Repeat for the felt/cotton batting.

Step 2. Sewing your pieces together.

Start by pinning the fabric together with felt/cotton batting sandwiched in between, right sides facing out. It should be four layers thick. Sew three to four seams at even intervals to attach all the materials together.

Step 3. Attaching your edging

Pin the binding (or your homemade edging) to the edge of the circles the whole way around. Be sure to fold under the edge that lays on top as you finish pinning around the circle. Sew along the edge being sure to sew through both sides of the binding and all four layers of your strap cover.

Step 4. Attaching your velcro

Cut the velcro into pieces that are about 2 inches long. Sew the hooks and the loops to opposite edges of the same side of your strap cover.

Step 5. Enjoy!

Attach to your carseat, stroller, carriage, pram, or bike seat and enjoy! I hope your little ones find these to be as comfortable as they are stylish.

 

But wait, you say. home come your tutorial had no pictures? Haha. That because I did mine a little differently than the other tutorials online. If you are using a basic cotton fabric or upcycling a t-shirt, definitely use the directions above. However, if you happen to have a nice fleecy fabric scrap on hand that was left over from last year’s halloween costume… then by all means follow the directions below.

The EASY WAY:

Step 1: Cut your fabric out.

Use a bowl, same as above, but for this version you only need 2 circles.

Step 2: Sew an edge to keep your fabric from fraying.

Fleece is nice because it generally doesn’t fray. To give your straps a nice edge and to keep them from coming apart, sew around the edge of each circle.

It will look like this when you’re done:

Step 3: Attach Velcro

Just like above, make sure that you attach the hooks and looks on opposite edges of the same side of the circle. Yep, just sew it on. I used scrap velcro so mine are a little small, but they work great!

It should look like this when you’re done:

And like this when folded over:

So simple! I think it only took 20 minutes. This is a great option if you’re short on time because each strap is just one piece of fleece.

Add embellishments if you choose, or go plain and make it match your car seat. Enjoy!

1, 2, 5, … 8, oh wait, what’s next?

I found this fabulous tutorial for making beanbags and had such a blast making them that I had to share. I think this would be a really fun way to learn to count, so I put numbers on mine. What I love about this process is how versatile it is! You could put shapes, numbers, letters, messages, or really anything on the bean bags - and they were SOOO easy to make. Unfortunately, because they have beans in them and can’t be washed I don’t really recommend them for children under 3. BUT! if you substitute the beans for plastic pony beads I think that would solve the problem.

I also know that I don’t cut straight so instead of cutting the fabric out, I used pre-cut quilting squares from Jo-Anns. Enjoy!
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Tea Towel Dress

Have I mentioned that my sewing machine is a piece o’ junk? It took me all day to figure out why the tension was messing up (a key to this AWESOME easy dress) but I finally figured it out!!! I’m so excited.
I used to have a dress like this, but I think mine was maroon, or maybe it was yellow? Anyways, I remember thinking it was soooo comfy. I can’t wait to see how Sweet Pea looks in this fabulous dress!
 
Note: The tutorial I’m linking doesn’t say to use normal thread for the top thread, but you do. ALSO, if you have issues with your bobbin tension the shirring will NOT work. I learned this the hard way. Luckily, I also found great tips for fixing my bobbin tension and I shouldn’t have that problem any more!!! Hooray!!
You will all LOVE THIS TUTORIAL.
Happy Dress Making!!

Organza Flowers

I take no credit for this craft idea. Actually I have no idea where it came from, but a friend of mine showed me how to make these a couple of months back and just this week my husband asked me if I would make some for our Sweet Pea. How cool that my husband is actually asking me to make something specific next!
<3. He’s awesome. I should make something for him next….

On to the craft!

For this activity you will need:
about an 1/8th of a yard of your choice color of organza.
A needle and thread
3-5 tiny beads.
Oh yeah… you need scissors too.

Start by cutting out 3-4 circles of different sizes from the organza. No need to be exact. We’ll smooth out the edges in a minute. In fact, sometimes a bumpy circle makes a cool flower. I just did circles because I didn’t feel like being overly interesting. If you try it with a bumpy circle, I’d love to hear how it turns out!

** This is NOT a kid friendly activity, so make your all your bitty ones are napping or playing elsewhere while you craft!!***

Light your favorite candle. I like one with a scent, but if your sensitive, the scent is only for pleasure and in no way related to the craft.

Carefully melt the edges of each piece of organza by moving it slowly in and out of the flame. You’ll start to see the edges curl up. Be careful that you don’t melt the edges too much. After you try it a couple of times you’ll start to see how much is too much and how much is just right. It all comes down to your personal preference.

Layer the the pieces together so that they create a flower.

Using the needle and thread, run a stitch through all the pieces of fabric. Run the needle through a bead to string it into the stitch.

When you finish your stitch, try to insert the needle as close to the thread as possible so that your stitches don’t show.

Repeat for 3 – 5 beads.

Sew onto your favorite hair band or a round of hosiery (they work great for baby headbands!) and voila!

Here’s hoping that April showers bring more May flowers your way. Happy Crafting!

A Tag-rific Tutorial

You know how you see something in a store and think to yourself, “Dude! I can totally make that!” Well, this is one that I’ve been itching to try since I got the idea in my head a couple of months ago. The first version didn’t turn out perfectly (I am a novice sewer at best) and so I think I’ll try again in a couple of days.
First things first, for this little doozy you’ll need lots of scraps – scrap fabric, scrap ribbon, and an empty wrapper from either your baby’s favorite disposable diapers or your wipes refill pack. I used a wipes refill pack. The plastic from it is actually enough to make two or three, depending on the size.
After you’ve gotten everything together, cut your fabric into two even sized pieces. I picked a square but this can easily be done as a circle, triangle, rectangle… heck, even a rhombus would do nicely. Then measure the plastic and cut it to about the same size.
Cut your ribbon into random sizes and pin it to the right side of your fabric so that the loops point inward.  Don’t make the loops too long – about 4 inches of ribbon is plenty long enough when made into a loop. I think I made some of my “tags” too long. When I give it to Bitty Bear tomorrow I’ll see if she tries to put the whole thing in her mouth or not. (I suppose this goes with all toys, but please make sure your children are supervised when playing with this one)
With the right sides facing each other, layer your pieces so that when you turn the rights sides out at the end, the plastic will be in the middle. I put the plastic on the bottom when I went to sew it together. You can just as easily sew the inside seem with the plastic as the top layer. Make sure all the loops point in!!!
Sew around the edge leaving a small gap for turning. Remove the pins and turn the toy right side out (plastic will now be in the middle). Sew a finishing edge around it and you’re done!! Congrats! In about 1/2 an hour you made your babe a new toy!
Happy Sewing!
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Something old made new...

I love this DIY tutorial for turning an old T-shirt of yours into a new t-shirt for your daughter (or another little girl you know) Those of you with sewing machines are going to love it!

*born-again crafter*: super quick green shirt redo